Smiles for Kids in Need

The Jester & Pharley Phund’s Smiles for Kids in Need Program gives therapists, social workers, counselors, clergy, police officers, firefighters and others the tools to help even the saddest child rediscover laughter.

Our goal is to provide a copy of The Jester Has Lost His Jingle and The Jester & Pharley Doll to all children coping with chronic and life-threatening illness, injuries and other challenges.

Police officers from L.A.P.D. unload Jester & Pharley books and dolls to lift the spirits of children in distress.

Police officers from LAPD unload Jester Has
Lost His Jingle
books and Jester & Pharley Dolls
to lift the spirits of children in distress.

Therapists at Hospice of the Valley in San Jose, CA, use The Jester, donated by The Frieda C. Fox Family Foundation, to show youngsters how humor can
help them get through difficult times.

Officer Simmons Project

Officer Simmons’ memory was honored by students at Taper Avenue Elementary
and Toberman Neighborhood Center in San Pedro, CA, who participated in a Jester Read-A-Thon. Hundreds of children in crisis will benefit when they are given Jester books and Jester & Pharley Dolls as a result of these programs.  We are continuing to benefit the LAPD in Officer Simmons’ memory with new literacy programs.

L.A.P.D SWAT with Barb
simmons_randy

One of our special literacy programs honors the memory of LAPD Officer Randy Simmons, the first SWAT officer killed in the line of duty. Officer Simmons, who died in Feb. 2008, was dedicated to helping at-risk children by giving them ‘Jester’ books and Jester & Pharley dolls.

Special Needs Organization Partners

1736 Family Crisis Center, Torrance, CA
Alisa Ann Ruch Burn Foundation, Burbank
AmeriCorps Program, UCLA & UC Berkeley
Bienvenidos Family Services, East Los Angeles
CASA: Court Appointed Special Advocate, San Rafael
Child Advocates of Silicon Valley, Milpitas
Children’s Hunger Fund, Mission Hills, CA
Diabetes Society of Santa Clara Valley, San Jose
Family Supportive Housing, San Jose
Five Acres – The Boys’ and Girls’ Aid Society of Los Angeles County, Altadena
Friends Outside, Pasadena
Harbor Interfaith Services, San Pedro
Hospice of the Valley, San Jose
InnVision: The Way Home, San Jose
Interval House Crisis Shelters, Long Beach
Jenesse Center, Inc., Los Angeles
Los Angeles Police Department, Los Angeles
Mustard Seed School, Sacramento
New Hope Grief Support Community, Long Beach
Pediatric Therapy Network, Torrance
Providence Little Company of Mary Partners for Healthy Kids, Torrance
Providence TrinityCare Hospital, Torrance
Rainbow Services, San Pedro
Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center, Downey
Raphael House, San Francisco
Richstone Family Center, Hawthorne
Toberman Neighborhood Center, San Pedro
Walk With Sally, Redondo Beach
WomenShelter of Long Beach, Long Beach

Gilda’s Club, Ft. Lauderdale

Hospice of Comfort, Manchester

Family Service & Guidance Center, Topeka

The Salvation Army, Jefferson

The Center for Grieving Children, Portland

Brain Tumor Society, Boston Joslin Diabetes Center, Boston

The Salvation Army , Biloxi

Chai Lifeline, Northeast Chapter, NY

Ohio Hospice & Palliative Care, Dublin

Calm Waters Center for Children and Families, Oklahoma City

Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center, Newport

Benedictine Sisters of Virginia, Bristow

Special Needs Endorsements

Praise from Counselors, Therapists, and Other Caregivers

police
jester artwork
LAPD

"The Jester & Pharley are an intergral part of our children's grief support program. The children gain a meaningful friend in The Jester; they gradually see hope in their lives and they learn to laugh again."

Sally Adelus, CEO Hospice of the Valley San Jose, CA

"I personally love the book and Jester Doll. It has comforted many children through grief and loss issues as well as sadness in their lives. It has lifted their spirits and given them hope when they have felt hopeless."

Judy Deutsch, Former Counselor, 93rd Street School, Los Angeles

"Too often a child experiencing a serious injustice to themselves or a member of their family is filled with a variety of emotions from fear of the individual who hurt them to the uncertainty of what will happen next. The Jester & Pharley provide these children with a sense of comfort and a smile."

Kirk J. Albanese, Deputy Chief, Los Angeles Police Department

09_ollahudson 04 ha ha cge

"The Jester Has Lost His Jingle has become a potent therapeutic tool here at Richstone. The children who are counseled here are all victims of physical, sexual and emotional abuse, as well as severe neglect. The spirit of these children is often drained from them, leaving them without hope or joy. Their 'jingle' is lost. The sharing of David's book and the Jester doll has become one of the avenues for the counselors to assist children to discover the healing power of laughter."

Dorothy Courtney, Former Executive Director Richstone Family Center, Hawthorne, CA

"A fifth grade boy's mother died of a drug overdose and he was taken from his father who abused him while intoxicated. He was placed in a foster home for the first time, and in addition, has had to adjust to a new school and make new friends. He has frequently burst into tears, since he still loves his father in spite of everything and his father has disappeared. "I gave him a copy of David's book and he took it home during Thanksgiving vacation and he read it over and over, 'I just couldn't stop reading it,' he said, 'especially the last page.' ("Laughter is hiding inside of you.")"

Lisa Rountree, Counselor 96th Street School, Los Angeles